Tsvangirai lose hope of winning elections against Mugabe

PUNCH-drunk MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday said he had lost hope of winning elections against President Mugabe, saying he only fancied his chances after the latter's demise.

Mr Tsvangirai, whose party has been boycotting by-elections since the heavy drubbing it got in the 2013 harmonised elections, was speaking as he addressed journalists at his party's Harvest House headquarters.

He, however, did not explain why he believed he would outlive the President. The embattled opposition leader surprised many when he blamed Government for the El Nino-induced drought, calling on MDC-T supporters to protest over the lack of rain.

"We all know that instead of fighting for succession, let us wait until he dies," he said. "He (President Mugabe) has made a declaratory order and indeed Zimbabweans must wait until he dies."

Asked why he was pushing for the so-called electoral reforms ahead of the 2018 elections when he knew that he was heading nowhere, Mr Tsvangirai said: "It is the duty of leaders to be dealers of hope."

"Suppose he dies tomorrow, does that question still stand?" he retorted. In all the national elections his party has contested since its launch on September 11 1999, the MDC has lost to Zanu-PF, suffering its heaviest defeat in the 2013 harmonised elections.

Mr Tsvangirai garnered a mere 33,94 percent of the vote to President Mugabe's 61,09 percent. "Iii nyangwe dai muri docile, munosimukawo panzara," Mr Tsvangirai said.

"Ndofunga pachikafu pacha-simukawo vanhu apa. We have to mobilise the people. No one is going to take action unless they are mobilised. To continue to be docile is not the solution. We must continue to mobilise until we get the attention of Zanu-PF. A hungry person is an angry person."

President Mugabe has assured the nation that despite the natural disaster caused by El Nino, no one would starve and on Thursday he declared the 2015/6 agricultural season a national disaster due to the dire effects of the El-Nino weather phenomenon.

The El-Nino, which has affected the whole of the Southern region, has seen Zimbabwe receiving normal to below normal rainfall. The declaration by President Mugabe is aimed at mobilising resources to alleviate food shortages and seeks to undertake the tasks of ensuring and supervising the programme of effective delivery of relief supplies for people and livestock as well as emergency irrigation programmes.

Departing from his earlier refrain of blaming Zanu-PF for the drought, Mr Tsvangirai said: "As a region and as a country we are bearing the brunt of climate change, a serious issue that needs attention at policy level, especially now as the entire Sadc region faces a food crisis.

"So, yes, we are facing very serious national crisis because of climate change, but there is no response from Government." Contrary to Mr Tsvangirai's assertion, that Government was doing nothing, just last week Government secured $200 million in lines of credit for grain imports, as it stepped up efforts to ensure that no one will starve due to drought.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya said the country had enough stocks to last almost a year.